American Civil War - Congressional Reconstruction

After the Civil War, Congress was
controlled by Republicans. In the 1866 Congressional elections,
Republicans again won landslide victories. By the time the elections were
over, Republicans controlled 2/3 of the seats in both the House and
the Senate. The Republican majority in Congress focused on expansion
of the railroads, settling the western territories, fighting Indian
wars out west, adjusting laws to keep up with the rapid growth of
industry in the North, and other business. But they did not forget
about the South.

In 1866, after working for several months, the
Congressional Committee on Reconstruction presented its plan for the unification
of the country. It was a very different plan than that presented by the current
U.S. president, Andrew Johnson, which was very lenient. The Congressional
Reconstruction plan was very harsh. It was designed to keep Republicans in
control of Congress. It was, however, sensitive to the plight of freed slaves in
the South. The committee's proposal was accepted by Congress. The following was
established:

1. Congress formed the Freedmen's Bureau, a
temporary federal agency to help former slaves transition to freedom, by
providing free food, clothing, medical care, and education to over 4 million
freed slaves.

2. Congress replaced civilian governments in former
Confederate states with military rule, to force Southerners to obey the new
laws, such as the 13th Amendment.

3. Congress refused to recognize any state
constitution until it had been changed to include the right of male African
Americans to vote.

4. Congress did not allow any state to rejoin the
Union until they had ratified the 14th Amendment, which further protected
African American civil rights.

5. Congress barred all former Confederates from
holding political office until they had received a pardon from Congress.

When the press called their actions harsh, Congress
responded by pointing out they had forgiven the massive Confederate war debt.
They had established programs that provided free food, clothing, medical care,
education, and jobs for millions of people. What more did the South want?

What the South wanted of course was their prewar way of
life back. But this was not going to happen. After the war, Northern economy
boomed. But news from the South continued to be depressing. In spite of
Republican claims of support and care, Republican corruption in both the North
and the South was widespread. The South's reaction to the harsh controls placed
upon them by the Republican Congress resulted in the rise of secret societies,
whose purpose was to terrorize African Americans, carpetbaggers, and scalawags,
in an attempt to regain control.

But Republicans remained in control. In 1868,
Republican Ulysses S. Grant, former Union general, won the presidency. He served
2 terms. The first election was close, but he won his second term by a
landslide, in spite of charges of incompetence, fraud, and scandal. And again,
the Republicans gained a 2/3 majority in both houses. During his presidency, yet
another Amendment was added to the Constitution, the 15th Amendment, extending
African American civil rights. The Democratic South might have wanted their
prewar culture back, but it simply was not going to happen.